The General Licensing Committee at North Kesteven District Council is set to review and amend its Hackney Carriage & Private Hire Licensing Policy, with a proposal to remove the upper age limit for vehicles licensed by the Council.
Currently the policy is not to licence any Hire Vehicle once it reaches its 10th anniversary of registration, unless it meets the exceptional condition criteria detailed within the policy. This age policy was previously introduced to offer some flexibility for the trade when licensing cars, balanced against the increased emissions concerns around older diesel vehicles.
But now, following the tightening of emissions criteria under the VOSA MOT requirements, along which future proposals to further tighten the national emissions standards, the committee believes that a relaxation of the current age policy will offer more flexibility for the trade, whilst ensuring that hire vehicles, (which require testing to MOT standard every 6 months) still meet the strict national emissions criteria.
The consultation runs until Monday, July 24 2023, after which the General Licensing Committee will consider any responses. Any comments should be forwarded to the Licensing team.